Certified Plot Plans

Certified Plot Plans are required by local Building Inspectors prior to the issuance of a Building Permit. To prepare a Certified Plot Plan, an instrument survey is required. The instrument survey is a retracement survey, which means that the survey must retrace the steps of the original land surveyor to ascertain the limits of the property. Requirements of a retracement survey are detailed in 250 CMR 6.01, which are briefly described below;

Research and Investigation: Obtain a legal description of property and abutting properties and copies of recorded documents affecting the survey. Obtain from utility companies, public offices and Land Court copies of available plans, documents and field notes affecting the survey. Obtain from known private sources available copies of data affecting the survey. Obtain copies of the applicable zoning by-laws that govern in the area in which the property is located.

Field Investigation: Search and locate physical monuments and weigh their reliability. Make sufficient measurements to correlate all found evidence.

Computations, Conclusions and Plan: Compute and compare field information with record data and investigate any disagreements. Make interpretation of location in accordance with law and/or precedent, and finalize the retracement of the property lines.

Local officials may have additional requirements for plot plans. This type of survey service is primarily performed in accordance with 250 CMR 6.01 for retracement survey and 250 CMR 6.02 when topographic features are required